Wash One's Hands Of Meaning
(idiomatic) To absolve oneself of responsibility or future blame for; to refuse to have any further involvement with.
Example: 1884, H. Rider Haggard, Dawn, ch. 51:
It was no affair of his; he had long ago washed his hands of the whole matter.
1916, Rex Ellingwood Beach, Rainbow's End, ch. 20:
Although Norine had pretended to wash her hands of all responsibility for Branch's little charge, she was by no means so inhuman as she appeared.
1936 June 8, "National Affairs: Ditch Up, Dam Down," Time:
[A]fter Congress had refused to appropriate money to continue them, President Roosevelt washed his hands of the two ventures.
2003 March 13, "Immigration: Vermont Refugee Aid Group Says Policy Thins Resources," New York Times (retrieved 27 July 2011):
Janet Dench, the executive director of the Canadian Council for refugees, said that both countries are “washing their hands†of the problem.
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